for their pets, and yours. unleash a complete killing force in every dose of frontline plus. >> pelley: tonight, the verdict is in. >> we, the jury, find the defendant... >> couric: and many are surprised by the decision in the murder trial of casey anthony. troy roberts is at the courthouse. news today of an astounding public school cheating scandal. mark strassmann reports it wasn't the students who cheated on the test but their principals and teachers. some troops who die in the war zone are denied a presidential honor. tonight, the white house tells cbs news that's about to change. and as we count down to the final flight of the shuttle, bob orr rendezvouses with john glenn who wonders who really did the space race? >> i don't like this at all.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening, the f.b.i. tells us that in any given year as many as 300 children under the age of five are murdered by a parent-- that's nearly one everyday. but when a mother in florida was accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter, that one case became a sensation on cable television. it seemed everyone had an opinion. but in the only opinion that matters, a jury in orlando today found casey anthony not guilty, convicting her only on four relatively minor charges of lying to the police. troy roberts is at the courthouse. >> reporter: good evening scott. the moments leading up to the reading of the verdict today were incredibly tense, especially for the 25-year-old defendant, casey anthony. >> a jury of your peers having found you not guilty of murder in the first degree... >> reporter: the verdict

caused an immediate and emotional response from 25-year-old casey anthony and her defense team and left prosecutors stunned. on the seven charges before the jury, anthony was found not guilty of first degree murder and the two others related to the killing of her infant daughter caylee. she was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of lying to the police. after exchanging hugs, casey's defense attorney jose baez spoke of the tragedy that led to the six-week trial. >> while we're happy for casey, there are no winners in this case. caylee has passed on far, far too soon. >> reporter: no members of the jury were willing to speak to the press. but even after the verdict, prosecutors stood by the case they presented. >> we're disappointed with the verdict today and surprised because we know the facts and we put in absolutely every piece of evidence that existed. >> reporter: it's been a story that has captivated the media

and much of the nation. it was in 2008. two-year-old caylee anthony disappeared from her florida home. almost six months later, her skeletal remains were found in two plastic bags dumped in the woods-- walking distance from the home where she had lived with her grandparents and her mother, casey anthony. prosecutors said there was duct tape placed on caylee anthony's mouth and nose but none of her mother's fingerprints or d.n.a. was on the tape. the medical examiner never determined the cause of caylee anthony's death, but did rule it a homicide. >> the fact that it's tossed in a field to rot in bags is a clear indication that the body was trying to be hidden. >> reporter: prosecutors focused on casey anthony as the murderer. she did not tell anyone that her daughter was missing for a month and during that time she spent her nights partying. >> she never was missing. >> reporter: anthony originally claimed her daughter was kidnapped by a nanny... a

nanny who did not exist. at trial, anthony's story changed. her defense team claimed the two-year-old accidentally drowned in the family's swimming pool and that george anthony-- caylee's grandfather-- moved the body into the woods. an accusation he denied. 11 hours of jury deliberations put an end to what had become a media circus. people lined up for hours to get seats and at local restaurants today watched intensely as the verdict was read. >> i'm in shock. i don't know what trial they were in. >> reporter: casey anthony will return to court on thursday for a hearing on the misdemeanor charges. those four charges, each count carry a year in jail so the judge believes... so many believe that the judge will sentence her to time served. >> pelley: troy, thank you very much. cbs news will have more on the casey anthony case on a special edition of "48 hours," casey anthony: judgment day, tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central here on

cbs. another story that caught our attention today a massive cheating scandal in atlanta's public schools. it matters far beyond that city because the alleged cheating involved the same sort of standardized tests used all over the country. most surprising in the cheating scandal, it's not the students but 178 principals and teachers who were involved. 56 schools were investigated and cheating was found in 44-- that's nearly 80%. we asked mark strassmann to look into this. >> reporter: it's a scathing report. a decade of systemic cheating in atlanta school system by the adults. dozens of educators erased wrong student answers on state standardized tests and inserted the right ones. in all, investigators accused 38 principals of cheating and said 82 of the 178 educators they identified as part of the scandal confessed. >> when educators have failed to uphold the public trust and

students are harmed in the process, there will be consequences. >> reporter: the motive for cheating? show phony progress at often troubled schools. what the report calls "the pressure to meet targets in the data-driven environment." parents are outraged. >> 185 people are in on this? they should be fired, immediately. >> reporter: atlanta's scandal is the biggest in recent years, but other schools in baltimore, houston, and detroit have had isolated cheating issues on state-wide tests. educator diane ravage blames it on a federal law that links funding with test performance. >> we have a terrible federal law called no child left behind that says that all schools have to have 100% of their students proficient in reading and math by the year 2014 or their schools will be closed down. >> reporter: in atlanta, warning signs were there, but potential whistle-blowers were bullied or worse. at this atlanta high school, former teacher paul landerman saw a teacher helping 50

students change test answers. he reported it and the next day he says he was fired. >> the greatest value inside that system is loyalty to the system. >> reporter: for overall responsibility, the report points to beverly hall, the school system's former suspec superintendent. atlanta schools showed such progress that in 2009 hall was named america's superintendent of the year. but investigators say hall either knew of the cheating or should have. she has denied that but in her retirement video last month blamed other employees. >> i am confident that aggressive, swift action will be taken against anyone who believes so it will until our students and in our system of support that they turned to dishonesty as the only option. >> reporter: atlanta now has an interim school superintendent and, scott, he said today that any educator involved in the scandal would not work in a classroom here again. >> pelley: mark, i wonder, could there be criminal charges here involved? >> reporter: these people are

looking at potential felony charges, scott. tampering with a state exam in georgia is a potential felony punishable by up to ten years in prison. >> pelley: thanks, mark. in less than a month, the u.s. government will default on its debts unless congress votes to raise the debt ceiling, and that won't happen until democrats and republicans settle their differences over raising taxes and cutting spending. today, president obama tried to jump start that process again by inviting leaders from both parties to the white house for talks on thursday. it was a deadly day for u.s. troops in afghanistan. three americans were killed and one was wounded when they were attacked by insurgents in the eastern part of the country. their afghan interpreter was also killed. most american families who lose a loved one in a war zone get a letter of condolence from the president of the united states. but there are a few who are denied that honor. among them, families of troops who commit suicide.

we first reported this last week and tonight we have learned that the white house is changing its policy. elaine quijano brings us up to date with the father who led the fight to change the rules. >> i had many doubts. many, many doubts but we're very pleased. >> reporter: last week, greg kiessling got the call from the white house he'd waited nearly two years to receive. he learned his family's long wait for acknowledgment from the commander-in-chief was almost over. >> o'neil, my oldest son, came down, we had a hug and it was very emotional. and "dad, it's going to happen." and that was very good moment that this has been worth it. >> reporter: since the suicide of kiessling's son, 25-year-old army specialist chance kiessling in iraq, greg and his wife janet have fought to receive a condolence letter. >> i miss you, chance. i do. >> reporter: writing to the president and asking their congressman for help. >> he was a good soldier and so

i think that's the part that i want to know, that the country appreciates that he fought, he did everything he was asked to do and it didn't turn out well for him. but at least the country could write a simple letter and the president represents our country and just say to our family thank you for your son's service. >> reporter: kiessling has now been today he'll receive some kind of recognition from the white house-- though not an official presidential condolence letter in memory of his son chance. >> today we'll be reading "the cat in the hat." >> reporter: chance kiessling shot himself on his second tour in iraq, just days after this video was taken. he'd had previous emotional problems and became despondent after a fight with his girlfriend. under a decades-old white house policy inherited by the obama administration, military families received letters from the president only if their loved ones died on the battlefield or in accidents in

war zones. now the policy is changing. greg kiessling told us recently for families like his, the acknowledge system long overdue. >> i do think this is about doing what is the right thing. i feel that to the core of my being. this is about justice for my son chance kiessling. >> reporter: the new policy goes into effect starting today which is why the kiesslings will not receive an official presidential condolence letter. their son chance died in 2009. we're told the policy affects all military families whose loved ones die in war zones regardless of how they died. the new policy, though, scott, does not include state-side training deaths. >> pelley: thank you, elaine. there is outrage in britain tonight after a tabloid hacked into the voice mail of a missing 13-year-old girl. families are holding out hope for seven americans missing in the gulf of california.

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13-year-old girl-- a girl who was later found murdered. >> reporter: it's britain's biggest sunday newspaper, selling more than 2.5 million copies by delivering skin and the skinny. scoops-- some of which the "fuse of the world" has gotten by hacking into the voice mail accounts of famous victims like mick jagger, eric clapton, gwenyth paltrow, hugh grant, tony blair and a member of prince william's staff. but it is the intrusion into the voice mail of milley doweller, a missing 13-year-old, that has outrage add nation. the "news of the world" not only hacked into her voice mail to hear desperate relatives trying to reach her, it deleted some messages to make room for others and so gave her family false hope that she was still alive dialing into her own voice mail. milley was found dead six months after her abduction. >> we're so desperately worried. >> reporter: the family, which

had made heart rending appeals during the kidnap, is distraught. the sense of outrage spread to parliament. >> that's not just a paper believing it's above the law, it's national newspaper playing god with a family's emotions. >> reporter: the technique for hacking into voice mail accounts is frighteningly simple. all it takes is two phones. on one, you dial the number in question, then, while it's busy, you dial the number again on the other phone which immediately goes to voice mail. it's then simply a matter of dialing in the usual factory pin numbers, 1234 or 0000. it's surprising how many people never change their pins. the scandal has business and political fallout. the "news of the world" is owned by rupert murdoch's "news international." its editor at the time, rebecca brooks, now runs his u.k. operations and has refused to resign. she's also a close friend and supporter of prime minister

david cameron who condemned the intrusion. the "news of the world" says it will conduct its o internal inquiry into the hacking but rebecca brooks will head the investigation. in other words, she'll be investigating herself. the police inquiry is continuing as well and scotland yard says there are more bombshell revelations to come. >> pelley: mark, do we know who started this hacking to begin with? >> it was a private investigator who was working for the "news of the world." he appears to have developed the system for hacking into the accounts but then various reporters-- many of them-- this was a long standing practice appeared to have done the reporting and the ferreting out of information that's appeared in the papers. >> pelley: thank you, mark. this story is amazing. a court case in southern india has led to an astounding discovery. a spectacular treasure inside a 500-year-old hindu temple. a local activist has accused administrators of the temple of mismanagement so an audit was

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obstacle in the cleanup of more than 40,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the river from a ruptured pipeline near the town of lawyer rell. officials say the oil may have reached as far as north dakota 270 miles away. the u.s. coast guard and mexico's navy today expanded the search for seven americans missing for more than two days off mexico's baja, california, coast. they were on a fourth of july fishing trip when their chartered boat capsized. ben tracy tells us the families are holding on to hope. >> reporter: this coast guard c-130 left sacramento, california, this morning. it is now over the gulf of california searching for those missing americans. their 115 foot fish l vessel the "erik" was hit by a sudden storm at 2:30 in the morning on sunday. two huge waves knocked it over. it sank in just four minutes. >> devastated beyond belief. words can't describe it.

>> reporter: christina bronstein's fiancee was on board. he's still missing but she thinks he's alive. >> i'm just going with my gut instinct. i think that he's somewhere and i... i don't think that he's doing well. i don't think that he's passed. >> reporter: one american is confirmed dead, 19 others and all 16 crew members have been rescued. some clng to coolers and life vests for 16 hours, others were found by people from this remote fishing village. >> we're very grateful for that. otherwise we could still be out there. >> reporter: the boat was at full capacity went it went down 60 miles south of san filipe, richard ciabattari believes he swam eight miles to shore after being tossed into the water. he called his wife jan from a pay phone. >> i asked him how he was doing he said he was okay but that the boat had sunk and i was, of course, in shock. >> reporter: with water temperatures near 80 degrees and calm seas, there is still hope of finding survivors. mexican authorities are now

working to get the rescued home. most drove to mexico from san francisco. their car keys and passports now at the bottom of the sea. ben tracy, cbs news, los angel angeles. >> pelley: john glenn was a leader many america's journey into space. now he's concerned about where the program is headed. that's i love to eat. i love hanging out with my friends.

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>> pelley: the shuttle "atlantis" is scheduled to be launched into space on friday, the last shuttle mission ever. but what comes next for the american space program? spice pioneer john glenn was there at the beginning and today bob orr asked him to look into the future. >> reporter: 49 years after becoming the first american to orbit the earth... >> you've got speed, john glenn. >> reporter: john glenn seems like he could still fly his "friendship 7" spacecraft. >> the windows up here above and the light spot up there is the window. >> oh, the view is tremendous. >> reporter: so you're flying with your right hand here? >> this would be your yaw, pitch, and roll, like that. >> reporter: this original pilot's joy stick from that historic flight is the centerpiece of memorabilia at glenn's school of public affairs at ohio state. but make no mistake: two weeks shy of his 90th birthday, john glenn is more focused on the uncertain future of the u.s. space program. >> now because the shuttle's

going down and we won't even have for a number of years now we will not have our own means of getting into space, which i think is too bad, i don't like this at all. >> reporter: it could be five years, maybe longer, before the u.s. has a replacement launch vehicle ready to go. after "atlantis" comes home and the shuttle program is shut down, american astronauts will have just one way to reach the international space station. >> we'll actually have to go over and have our people go up on the soyuz out of kazakhstan with the russian launch vehicles which i don't like, i don't think that's very seemly for the world's greatest space faring nation as president kennedy termed us. >> reporter: for glenn it's about more than pride. at age 77 he returned to space as part of the crew of shuttle "discovery," conducting experiments on human aging. glenn says it's that kind of research more than the pushing of cosmic boundaries which requires a sustaining commitment to space. but continuing the manned space

program requires money. someone has to pony up. >> oh, yes, sure. >> reporter: there are scarce dollars. >> well, you can always say th that. it was scarce dollars when lewis and clark wanted to go to the west coast and explore the west and people complained about it, i understand, from reading of the history books. >> reporter: the next mission, though, like that financing, is uncertain. there's talk of landing on an asteroid, maybe traveling to mars, but for now we face a troubling fall. >> an end of something means the beginning of something else and i don't think that something else is going to be a... the death of the manned space program. i think we had 50 years job well done but that's just the precursor to even greater things in the future. >> reporter: new break throughs, glenn says, which will happen if the nation which won the race to the moon stays in the game. bob orr, cbs news, columbus, ohio. >> pelley: that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night.

captioning sponsored by cb this is 9news now. >> well i hope that this is a lesson to those of you who have indulged in media assassination for three years, bias, prejudice, and incompetent talking heads saying what would be and how to be. >> casey anthony's attorneys lashing out after their client is found not guilty in the murder of her daughter. the verdict came after less than 11 hours of deliberations over two days and karen brown brings us the rest of the story. >> reporter: a lot of stunned folks wandering here outside the courthouse and just a short time ago, george anthony, casey anthony's father, the man that the defense said covered up an accial